Low Power Virtual Reality Presence Monitoring and Notification

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for low power virtual reality (VR) presence monitoring and notification via a VR headset worn by a user entail a number of aspects. In an embodiment, a person is detected entering a physical location occupied by the user of the VR headset during a VR session. This detection may occur via one or more sensors on the VR headset. In response to detecting that a person has entered the location, a representation of the person is generated and displayed to the user via the VR headset as part of the VR session. In this way, the headset user may be made aware of people in their physical environment without leaving the VR session.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is related generally to virtual reality and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for enhancing a virtual realitydisplay using one or more nearby physically present persons.

BACKGROUND

Virtual Reality (VR) technology allows users to experience a moreimmersive environment when playing games, training, and performing othersimulated activities. The VR headsets are worn by the user for a fullexperience, but these headsets, by design, also isolate the user fromtheir physical surroundings. While isolation limits unwantedinterference from the physical environment, it also reduces a user'sawareness of things in their surroundings that may actually warranttheir attention.

The inventors have considered that it may be possible for a VR headsetto use a mobile phone to monitor the user's physical surroundings viathe phone's camera. However, this potential solution, while novel andinteresting, would likely reduce device battery life, and may also causethe device to overheat as the camera, GPU, display, and host processorwould all be running at high capacity.

Before proceeding to the remainder of this disclosure, it should beappreciated that the disclosure may address some of the shortcomingslisted or implicit in this Background section. However, any such benefitis not a limitation on the scope of the disclosed principles, or of theattached claims, except to the extent expressly noted in the claims.

Additionally, the discussion of technology in this Background section isreflective of the inventors' own observations, considerations, andthoughts, and is in no way intended to be, to accurately catalog, or tocomprehensively summarize any prior art reference or practice. As such,the inventors expressly disclaim this section as admitted or assumedprior art. Moreover, the identification or implication herein of one ormore desirable courses of action reflects the inventors' ownobservations and ideas, and should not be assumed to indicate anart-recognized desirability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

While the appended claims set forth the features of the presenttechniques with particularity, these techniques, together with theirobjects and advantages, may be best understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsof which:

FIG. 1 is a modular view of an example electronic device usable inimplementation of one or more embodiments of the disclosed principles;

FIG. 2 is a modular view of an example virtual reality headset usable inimplementation of one or more embodiments of the disclosed principles;

FIG. 3 is simplified perspective view of the virtual reality headset ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process of monitoring and notificationin keeping with one or more embodiments of the disclosed principles;

FIG. 5 is a simplified simulated VR scene view showing a notification ofentry of a person into, and movement within, the physical spacesurrounding a VR headset in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosed principles; and

FIG. 6 is a simplified simulated VR scene view showing a notification ofentry of a person into, and movement within, the physical spacesurrounding a VR headset in accordance with an alternative embodiment ofthe disclosed principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before presenting a detailed discussion of embodiments of the disclosedprinciples, an overview of certain embodiments is given to aid thereader in understanding the later discussion. As noted above, theinventors have determined that while VR technology allows a user toexperience a more immersive environment, typical VR headsets tend toreduce or eliminate the user's awareness of objects or occurrences intheir surroundings that may warrant their attention.

As a principal example, consider the case of another person entering aroom where one or more users are wearing VR headsets and engaged in a VRexperience. The immersive nature of the VR headsets will likely preventthe users from noticing the presence of the person who has entered. Ifthe additional person then does something to get the attention of a VRuser, such as by tapping the user's shoulder or speaking loudly, the VRuser will likely be startled and disturbed. Such a disturbance willlikely ruin the VR experience of one or both users, and cause apotentially negative reaction toward the additional person.

In an embodiment of the described principles, one or more thermalpilesensors located at the top of the virtual reality headset allow theheadset to detect the approach of another person while the user isimmersed in VR. In an embodiment, the thermalpile sensors and associatedhardware or software are configured to detect the thermal signature of ahuman or animal (referred to herein as an “animate being”), and to thennotify the VR user.

The notification may be, for example, an overlay of the thermalsignature on the current VR display, enabling the headset to show thepresence of others without destroying the VR experience. In a furtherembodiment, the user may be alerted using one or more speakersassociated with the VR headset.

In yet another embodiment, a notification of the additional person isgiven by presenting an additional character or entity within the currentVR scene being displayed by the headset. An additional option is topause or stop the VR display and allow a camera view to be shown. Thismay use a phone camera or built-in headset camera. Another optionalembodiment entails using thermalpile sensors to transform other localplayers into game action figures, with continued tracking motion.

With this overview in mind, and turning now to a more detaileddiscussion in conjunction with the attached figures, the techniques ofthe present disclosure are illustrated as being implemented in asuitable device environment. The following device description is basedon embodiments and examples within which the disclosed principles may beimplemented, and should not be taken as limiting the claims with regardto alternative embodiments that are not explicitly described herein.

Thus, for example, while FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing devicewith respect to which embodiments of the disclosed principles may beimplemented, it will be appreciated that other device types may be used,including but not limited to laptop computers, tablet computers, and soon. Moreover, FIG. 2 will be used to describe a further computing devicein the form of a VR headset, which may be used to implement various ofthe disclosed embodiments.

The schematic diagram of FIG. 1 shows an exemplary mobile device 110forming part of an environment within which aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented. In particular, the schematic diagramillustrates a user device 110 including example components. It will beappreciated that additional or alternative components may be used in agiven implementation depending upon user preference, componentavailability, price point and other considerations.

In the illustrated embodiment, the components of the user device 110include a display screen 120, applications (e.g., programs) 130, aprocessor 140, a memory 150, one or more input components 160 such as RFinput facilities or wired input facilities, including, for example oneor more antennas and associated circuitry and logic. The antennas andassociated circuitry may support any number of protocols, e.g., WiFi,Bluetooth, cellular, etc. In an embodiment, the input components 160include a camera as well as associated hardware and software modules(collectively 165).

The device 110 as illustrated also includes one or more outputcomponents 170 such as RF (radio frequency) or wired output facilities.The RF output facilities may similarly support any number of protocols,e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, etc. and may be the same as oroverlapping with the associated input facilities. It will be appreciatedthat a single physical input may serve for both transmission andreceipt.

The processor 140 can be any of a microprocessor, microcomputer,application-specific integrated circuit, or the like. For example, theprocessor 140 can be implemented by one or more microprocessors orcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. Similarly, thememory 150 is a nontransitory media that may reside on the sameintegrated circuit as the processor 140. Additionally or alternatively,the memory 150 may be accessed via a network, e.g., via cloud-basedstorage. The memory 150 may include a random access memory (i.e.,Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random AccessMemory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRM) or any othertype of random access memory device or system). Additionally oralternatively, the memory 150 may include a read-only memory (i.e., ahard drive, flash memory or any other desired type of memory device).

The information that is stored by the memory 150 can include programcode associated with one or more operating systems or applications aswell as informational data, e.g., program parameters, process data, etc.The operating system and applications are typically implemented viaexecutable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 150) to control basic functions of the electronicdevice 110. Such functions may include, for example, interaction amongvarious internal components and storage and retrieval of applicationsand data to and from the memory 150.

Further with respect to the applications and modules such as a VR module180, these typically utilize the operating system to provide morespecific functionality, such as file system service and handling ofprotected and unprotected data stored in the memory 150. The VR module180 is a software agent in an embodiment that manages the device 110'soperations and interactions with respect to a VR headset. The VR headsetwill be shown in more detail later herein.

With respect to informational data, e.g., program parameters and processdata, this non-executable information can be referenced, manipulated, orwritten by the operating system or an application. Such informationaldata can include, for example, data that are preprogrammed into thedevice during manufacture, data that are created by the device or addedby the user, or any of a variety of types of information that areuploaded to, downloaded from, or otherwise accessed at servers or otherdevices with which the device is in communication during its ongoingoperation.

In an embodiment, a power supply 190, such as a battery or fuel cell, isincluded for providing power to the device 110 and its components.Additionally or alternatively, the device 110 may be externally powered,e.g., by a vehicle battery or other power source. In the illustratedexample, all or some of the internal components communicate with oneanother by way of one or more shared or dedicated internal communicationlinks 195, such as an internal bus.

In an embodiment, the device 110 is programmed such that the processor140 and memory 150 interact with the other components of the device 110to perform a variety of functions. The processor 140 may include orimplement various modules (e.g., the VR module 180) and execute programsfor initiating different activities such as launching an application,transferring data and toggling through various graphical user interfaceobjects (e.g., toggling through various display icons that are linked toexecutable applications). As noted above, the device 110 may include oneor more display screens 120. These may include one or both of anintegrated display and an external display.

FIG. 2 shows the architecture of an example VR headset 200 in accordancewith an embodiment of the described principles. In the illustratedembodiment, the VR headset 200 interacts with the user through a display207 and a speaker 217. Additional elements include a graphics processingunit (GPU) 203, for advanced graphics generation and processing, as wellas an audio digital signal processor (DSP) 215 for sound decoding andplayback.

A camera 209 associated with the VR headset 200 allows the headset 200to collect visual data regarding the physical surroundings during use ofthe headset 200. In addition, one or more thermalpile sensors 211 areincluded in the headset to detect heat signatures, such as those of aperson or pet, in the physical space around the headset 200 during use.

The VR headset 200 includes a wireless processor 205 in the illustratedembodiment to connect the headset 200 to one or more other data sourcesor sinks, such as a game console, another headset, a mobile phone, etc.Finally, an application processor 201 executes the primary processes ofthe headset 200 by controlling the aforementioned components. Thus, forexample, the application processor 201 may sample and respond to thethermalpile sensors 211, control the camera 209 and wireless processor205, and execute the steps described herein.

It will be appreciated that the application processor 201 operates byreading computer-executable instructions from a nontransitorycomputer-readable medium and subsequently executing those instructions.The nontransitory computer-readable medium may include any or all of, oralternatives of, random access memory (i.e., Synchronous Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUSDynamic Random Access Memory (RDRM) or any other type of random accessmemory device or system) and read-only memory (i.e., a hard drive, flashmemory or any other desired type of read-only memory device).

Turning to FIG. 3, this figure shows a simplified schematic view of a VRheadset 200 such as that of FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe disclosed principles. The illustrated headset 200 includes one ormore straps 301 for attachment of the headset 200 to a user's head. Amain body 303 of the headset 200 contains the remaining elements of thesystem and is located over the user's eyes when the VR headset 200 isworn.

Although not visible in FIG. 3, a display (FIG. 1, display 120) islocated within the headset 200. The illustrated VR headset 200 furtherincludes a camera 209 and one or more thermalpile sensors 211. Althoughnot explicitly shown in FIG. 3, the outputs of the device (FIG. 1,output components 170) may include an audio output including one or moreaudio speakers. The illustrated VR headset 200 may be corded orwireless. When the VR headset 200 is wireless, the main body 303 furtherencloses a wireless transceiver and appropriate antenna facilities, andmay have local or long-range connectivity, or both. For example, a VRheadset 200 may support any of WiFi, Bluetooth, Cellular and otherwireless protocols.

Turning to FIG. 4, this figure provides a flow chart of an exampleprocess 400 executed by the VR headset 200 to track and react to objectsin the user's physical environment during game play. It will beappreciated that additional steps may be added to the process orsubstituted for listed steps without departing from the scope of thedescribed principles.

The process 400 begins with the VR headset 200 situated on the user'shead with the main body 303 of the headset 200 over the user's eyes atstage 401. With the VR headset 200 powered on and being worn by theuser, the processor 140 monitors the thermalpile sensors 211 at stage403 for thermal activity in the vicinity of the user, that is, withinrange of the sensors 211 and in the direction of view. For example, aperson or animal (“animate being”) coming into the range of or cominginto view of the thermalpile sensors 211 will cause a heat signal to bedetected by the processor 140 through the sensors 211.

At stage 405 of the process 400, the processor 140 determines whetherthe detected thermal signature is moving spatially, e.g., causing atemporal change in the heat level sensed by one or more of thethermalpile sensors 211. For example, with three thermalpile sensors 211arranged as shown in FIG. 3, a thermal object moving from the user'sleft to the user's right would result in an increasing sensed heat atthe right-most sensor from the user's viewpoint. Depending upon where inthe user's view frame the motion started, the other sensors 211 wouldshow a corresponding increasing or decreasing heat level. Similarly, ifno thermalpile sensor 211 senses a temporal change in heat level, thethermal object is likely not moving at that time.

Returning to stage 405, if it is determined that the detected thermalsignature is not moving spatially, then the process 400 returns to stage401 to continue to monitor the thermalpile sensors 211 for movement.Otherwise, the process 400 flows to stage 407, wherein the moving heatsignature is analyzed to determine whether it exhibits characteristicsof a human or animal.

For example, the heat signature of a human or animal moves smoothly andincreases or decreases in size smoothly as a function of distance. Incontrast, the heat signature of a hot air plume emitted from a radiatormay exhibit rapid temperature fluctuation and may change dramatically inshape. Indeed, a heat plume may even divide into two or more entitiesdepending upon prevailing air movements.

If it is determined at stage 407 that the moving heat signature does notexhibit characteristics of a human or animal, the process reverts tostage 401, wherein the processor 140 continues to monitor thethermalpile sensors 211 for movement. Otherwise, the process 400continues on to stage 409 wherein the processor 140 generates a useralert or causes another element to generate such an alert.

As noted in overview above, such an alert may take one of variousavailable forms. Various examples are shown schematically in FIGS. 5-6.For example, in an embodiment, the notification may be as shown in FIG.5, that is, an overlay of the thermal signature or individual image orvideo itself on the current VR display, enabling the headset to show thepresence of others without destroying the VR experience. In a furtherembodiment, the user may be alerted using one or more speakersassociated with the VR headset.

In the illustrated embodiment, a person 501 has entered the VR user'sphysical environment, e.g., the room in which they are playing. However,since the VR user is wearing a VR headset displaying a VR scene 503, theVR user would not normally be aware of the presence of the person 501.However, in the illustrated embodiment, an image 505 of the person 501or their thermal signature is superimposed on the VR scene 503. In thisway, the VR user is made aware of the person 501 without needing to exitthe VR experience.

It will be appreciated that a distinctive style, shade, label etc. mayor may not be used for the image 505 to distinguish the image 505 fromother VR imagery being displayed ion the scene 503. The image 505 may bephotographic, line form (as illustrated), or static, e.g., a badge oricon. Furthermore, the image 505 and may move in accordance with person501, at the level of body segments or at a rougher level such as merelymirroring overall position.

In an embodiment, the VR headset identifies the person 501 and assigns alabel to the image 505 that reflects the identity of the person 501.Such identification may be based on identifying user characteristicssuch as height, outline, speech characteristics and so on, or based onidentification of a device associated with the person 501.

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, a notification of theadditional person 601 is given by presenting an additional character orentity 605 within the current VR scene 603 being displayed by theheadset. In this embodiment, rather than showing an image of the person601 that is linked to their physical appearance, the VR headset showsthe person 601 as a character or actor in the displayed scene 603. Thus,as shown, the image 605 may appear to be part of the VR scene 503,including shadowing, implements, skins and textures and so on. Indeed,the image 605 in this embodiment may look nothing like the person 601other than in location and pose. For example, the image 605 may show adragon, superhero, animal etc.

An additional option is to pause or stop the VR display and allow acamera view to be shown rather than the VR scene 503, 603. This mayutilize a phone camera or built-in headset camera. Another optionalembodiment entails using thermalpile sensors to transform other localplayers, not just temporary intruders, into game action figures, withcontinued motion tracking.

Although the examples herein employ a single pane scene view forclarity, it will appreciated that a VR headset may display a scene bydisplaying a slightly different version of the scene to each eyesimultaneously, e.g., to provide stereoscopic depth and the sensation of3D. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the described techniques areespecially useful within VR environments, the same principles may beapplied equally in non-VR environments.

It will be appreciated that various systems and processes for virtualreality presence monitoring and notification have been disclosed herein.However, in view of the many possible embodiments to which theprinciples of the present disclosure may be applied, it should berecognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to thedrawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not betaken as limiting the scope of the claims. Therefore, the techniques asdescribed herein contemplate all such embodiments as may come within thescope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A method of low power virtual reality (VR) presencemonitoring and notification via a VR headset worn by a user, the methodcomprising: monitoring one or more sensors associated with the VRheadset for thermal activity in the vicinity of the user; detectingthermal activity in the vicinity of the user based on the one or moremonitored sensors; determining whether the detected thermal activity ismoving; analyzing the thermal activity to determine whether it ischaracteristic of an animate being if the detected thermal activity ismoving; and generating a visual alert to the user via the VR headsetrepresentative of a source of the thermal activity if the thermalactivity is characteristic of an animate being.
 2. The method inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors associated withthe VR headset comprise one or more thermalpile sensors.
 3. The methodin accordance with claim 1, wherein for thermal activity is consideredto in the vicinity of the user if it is within range of the one or moresensors associated with the VR headset in a direction that the VRheadset is pointing.
 4. The method in accordance with claim 1, whereingenerating a visual alert to the user via the VR headset additionallycomprises generating an audio alert.
 5. The method in accordance withclaim 1, wherein generating a visual alert to the user via the VRheadset representative of a source of the thermal activity comprisesgenerating an image of the source of the thermal activity.
 6. The methodin accordance with claim 5, wherein the image of the source of thethermal activity is an outline image.
 7. The method in accordance withclaim 5, wherein the image of the source of the thermal activity is athermal image.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 5, wherein theimage of the source of the thermal activity is a photographic image. 9.The method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the image of the sourceof the thermal activity shows a VR character having the pose andrelative location of the source of the thermal activity.
 10. The methodin accordance with claim 1, further comprising continuing to monitor thepose and location of the source of the thermal activity and continuingto update the visual alert based on the pose and location of the sourceof the thermal activity.
 11. A system for low power virtual realitypresence monitoring and notification comprising: a virtual reality (VR)headset configured to be worn by a user, the VR headset including one ormore display units, one or more sensors and a processor configured todetect thermal activity in the vicinity of the VR headset based on theone or more sensors, determine whether the detected thermal activity ismoving, determine whether the thermal activity is characteristic of ananimate being if the detected thermal activity is moving, and generate avisual alert via the one or more display units representative of asource of the thermal activity if the thermal activity is characteristicof an animate being.
 12. The system in accordance with claim 11, whereinthe one or more sensors associated with the VR headset comprise one ormore thermalpile sensors.
 13. The system in accordance with claim 11,wherein for thermal activity is considered to in the vicinity of theuser if it is within range of the one or more sensors associated withthe VR headset in a direction that the VR headset is pointing.
 14. Thesystem in accordance with claim 11, wherein generating a visual alert tothe user via the VR headset additionally comprises generating an audioalert.
 15. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein generating avisual alert to the user via the VR headset representative of a sourceof the thermal activity comprises generating an image of the source ofthe thermal activity.
 16. The system in accordance with claim 15,wherein the image of the source of the thermal activity is one of anoutline image, a thermal image and a photographic image.
 17. The systemin accordance with claim 15, wherein the image of the source of thethermal activity shows a VR character having a pose and relativelocation consistent with the source of the thermal activity.
 18. Thesystem in accordance with claim 11, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to monitor a pose and location of the source of the thermalactivity and to update the visual alert based on changes in the pose andlocation of the source of the thermal activity.
 19. A method of lowpower virtual reality presence monitoring and notification via a virtualreality (VR) headset worn by a user, the method comprising: during a VRsession, detecting via one or more sensors on the VR headset that aperson has entered a physical location occupied by the user; and inresponse to detecting that a person has entered the location, generatingand displaying a representation of the person to the user via the VRheadset as part of the VR session.
 20. The method in accordance withclaim 19, wherein the representation of the person is one of an outlineimage, a thermal image, a photographic image and a VR character, therepresentation of the person having a pose and location consistent witha pose and location of the person.